The Boy Who Was Made of the Sea
by Fullmetal Pyromaniac
Summary: It all felt so surreal. The sand beneath his feet, keeping him still yet making him unsteady. The faint taste of salt in the air, the fresh wind blowing past him. The steady flow of red blood down his uniform that stained the golden sand a deep crimson. The soft breathing of the small boy in his arms that fought to stay awake. [Armin Arlert goes to the sea. Major Character Death!]


**_The Boy Who Was Made of the Sea by Fullmetal Pyromaniac_**

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 _How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard - Winnie the Pooh_

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"We have to keep moving, Eren. We've got all the titans in this part, but no doubt they'll find us quickly out in the open. Come on brat!"

It all felt so surreal. The sand beneath his feet, keeping him still yet making him unsteady. The faint taste of salt in the air, the fresh wind blowing past him. The steady flow of red blood down his uniform that stained the golden sand a deep crimson. The soft breathing of the small boy in his arms that fought to stay awake. The way his hair flowed with the winds current, blonde like the golden sand beneath him, the way his eyes were made of the sea itself, slowly creating rivers down pale cheeks.

The sight in front of Eren was one to behold, sapphire waters that spread as far as the eyes could see. Or "sea", as Connie or Sasha would say.

"Eren, come on!" Levi stressed, checking his gas and blades nervously, "We need to go"

"Give Eren a minute" Mikasa snapped, she had been standing quietly to the side with Jean who too was silent. Hange stood behind them all, mourning the loss of a precious student.

"I need to show him the sea" Eren spoke quietly, almost in a whisper, "He's spoken non-stop about it since we were kids, since before the fall of wall Maria" he turned to Levi, emerald eyes silently begging. "Please Corporal, _please_ "

Levi looked around, surveying the lands around them. They were barren and empty.

"Fine" he decided, "but you're not doing this half-assed. We're all going down there, the Arlert kid deserves this at least"

Everyone nodded in silent approval. Armin had helped them all tremendously throughout his lifetime, he deserved better than what they could offer, but the sea was all the team had. Eren slowly walked down to the shoreline, with Mikasa by his side. He knelt down, placing Armin on the sand, gently he opened his eyes. They were dulling, yet still a beautiful blue.

"Er...en" Armin coughed out weakly, "Mik..asa...you're both here"

"Of course, Armin. We'd never abandon you" Mikasa spoke firmly, yet softly, Armin smiled weakly.

"Where's...everyone else?"

"They're here too Armin, Levi, Hange, everyone. You'll never guess where we are, the sea, Armin, we made it to the sea" Eren said frantically, watching in horror as his friend grew weaker.

"The...sea? I...thought we'd...never make it. And everyone? Do...do they like it too? was- was it worth it?"

 _No,_ Eren thought, _I'd rather be friends with you forever and stay with you until I kill the titans than see the sea._

But Armin had wanted them all to see it since they were children, so for him, it would be worth it.

Jean, Hange, Levi, Sasha, and Connie all stood forward, allowing Armin to see them.

"It was worth it" Eren confirmed, Levi nodded, while Hange just gave a weak smile.

"It's even better than food" Sasha added tearfully with a choked laugh.

"Yeah, it's beautiful" Connie added, "I never knew things like this existed"

"Can I see?" Armin asked, "Just one glance is all I need"

Eren placed his arms under Armin and hauled him up so he was leaning against him and Mikasa. There was a soft gasp and Armin sat forward slightly, using his remaining arm to feel the sand, letting it pour through his fingers like liquid gold. When he looked at the sea, there was no gasp of surprise, only a sigh of contentedness as he took a handful of sand and sat back.

"It's everything the books told me it was...fields of sand, oceans of salt...the only thing I didn't see was the flaming water...and the fields of ice" he then sighed louder, "I'm sorry...that I wasn't of any use to you...even now it's you two that holding me up"

"What rubbish" Jean said, "You were useful, of course you were"

"You were strong, stronger than some of us here" Mikasa said.

"Even Erwin said you were excellent, we all would've died years ago without you"

"Really? D'you mean it? Then I'm happy. For once, I don't feel scared, I think it's because I'll see Marco again" Jean let out a choked sound, "I'll see my my mum and dad, and my grandad too, I'll tell them about the sea...I'll tell them about you..." and Armin fell still, his eyes still slightly open and staring at the sky.

Eren closed his eyes and cried. He cried for the boy who had chased the ocean 'till the day he died. He cried for the boy who had stayed strong, despite everyone around him dying. In the end it was Mikasa, she had always been the strongest of the three, who had picked Armin up and walked into the sea until she had to go on her tip-toes to stay above the surface and placed his lifeless body in the water, then watched it sink until it had vanished into the deep blue.

"For Armin Arlert" Hange had said, "The best young strategist the Survey Corps had ever seen" and still facing the ocean, she had done the salute. one fist over her heart, the other placed behind her back, over the Wings of Freedom symbol. The rest joined, even Mikasa who had begun crying on her own.

"I'll kill all the titans" Eren had muttered bitterly, "I've said it before, and I'll say it again. If not for mum, then for Marco, Petra, Eld, Ouro, Mina, Thomas, and Armin, and anyone else who was killed by them"

It was silent, only the matter lapping at the shore gently could be heard.

Eren turned to the sea, and sobbed.

The End.

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 _Some lovely New Years angst for you all. I wrote this at like, 2 in the morning, so excuse any misspellings and mistakes, and also sorry if it's really crappy. Been in a crappy mood lately, so expect more angsty Attack on Titan fictions in the near future._

 _See you at some point,_

 _\- Ruby_

 _(For Carrie Fisher)_


End file.
